Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Facebook Chat
Facebook has been working on chat for some time, and it now appears to have rolled out to the world.
Two features are worth noting. FIrst of all, it's implemented at the bottom of Facebook windows in the border (which is now expanded). This happens seamlessly to app developers because apps live within the Facebook frame and Facebook can make changes like this without impacting (well-behaved) applications. Of course, there's a limit to what you can do with the frame, because there's never enough real estate on a computer display, but a small and elegant interface like this fits in beautifully.
Second, Facebook chat builds on your Facebook friends. The whole thing is a solid structure of real people and relationships. The more I work on Facebook, the more I think that the real people/real names aspect of it is the key issue.
Two features are worth noting. FIrst of all, it's implemented at the bottom of Facebook windows in the border (which is now expanded). This happens seamlessly to app developers because apps live within the Facebook frame and Facebook can make changes like this without impacting (well-behaved) applications. Of course, there's a limit to what you can do with the frame, because there's never enough real estate on a computer display, but a small and elegant interface like this fits in beautifully.
Second, Facebook chat builds on your Facebook friends. The whole thing is a solid structure of real people and relationships. The more I work on Facebook, the more I think that the real people/real names aspect of it is the key issue.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
New Facebook Example Files
There's a new set of example files for the book's main example (Chapter 15). These files use the April 9, 2008 version of the Facebook client, and they also use PHP 5 (not PHP 4)--although we didn't find any operational differences, so this is just a housecleaning for going forward.
There is one Facebook API change that requires a line of code to be changed ($facebook->api_client->feed_publishTemplatizedAction called from myCAEs.php), and it's documented.
The major change is a slight restructuring in lib.php of get_from_database_and_render. It's been split into two (the pagination code is now in its own function), and instead of a plethora of parameters, there's now an associative array. The step-by-step process of building the app in the book makes it easier to follow, but, as mentioned at the end of the book, once you've been through the process, you can use a more sophisticated structure, which is what this is. (It also makes the code somewhat more reusable).
When you download the files, please take a moment to join the Downloads List. We don't send out much by way of mail, but it's important that we be able to contact you with updates. Particularly now that we're waiting for some revisions from Facebook on Profile pages, we want to be able to let you know as soon as we have revised files.
Note that the sample app at http://apps.facebook.com/jfexample is now running against these revised files. Also, the intention is to place new versions like this next to the old version so you can choose which one to use.
Visit the book's Facebook Page for more info.
There is one Facebook API change that requires a line of code to be changed ($facebook->api_client->feed_publishTemplatizedAction called from myCAEs.php), and it's documented.
The major change is a slight restructuring in lib.php of get_from_database_and_render. It's been split into two (the pagination code is now in its own function), and instead of a plethora of parameters, there's now an associative array. The step-by-step process of building the app in the book makes it easier to follow, but, as mentioned at the end of the book, once you've been through the process, you can use a more sophisticated structure, which is what this is. (It also makes the code somewhat more reusable).
When you download the files, please take a moment to join the Downloads List. We don't send out much by way of mail, but it's important that we be able to contact you with updates. Particularly now that we're waiting for some revisions from Facebook on Profile pages, we want to be able to let you know as soon as we have revised files.
Note that the sample app at http://apps.facebook.com/jfexample is now running against these revised files. Also, the intention is to place new versions like this next to the old version so you can choose which one to use.
Visit the book's Facebook Page for more info.
Labels: facebook
Sunday, April 6, 2008
New Facebook Apps
What are people building by way of Facebook apps? Recent postings about new apps and questions about programming them support the view in the book that many apps are small and focused. An app to help clients of a health club keep track of their fitness regimen. Low-gas-prices in a given metro area.
This is not to deny that there aren't still many Facebook blockbuster apps out there waiting to be written, but the focus of the social graph on small-scale projects remains a compelling argument for building Facebook apps.
On another front, a friend reported a new wrinkle in the ongoing conversation about whether social networking sites and the Internet in general are decreasing our social skills and interactions. So many Facebook apps really don't show their best features unless you have friends using the same app. The friend (nameless by request) said that getting the most out of Facebook apps means keeping up with friends. Not the pig-in-a-poke "friends" you sometimes encounter, but those friends from school or old neighborhoods or whatever that you've lost track of. I know this is the party line, but it does seem to tip the balance towards keeping up with friends.
Of course, now, I have to face the fact that a disturbing number of people on Facebook remember H.M.S. Pinafore from Gunston Junior High School. I wonder if playing SIr Joseph influenced me in later life? (And no, please do not respond to this rhetorical question.)
This is not to deny that there aren't still many Facebook blockbuster apps out there waiting to be written, but the focus of the social graph on small-scale projects remains a compelling argument for building Facebook apps.
On another front, a friend reported a new wrinkle in the ongoing conversation about whether social networking sites and the Internet in general are decreasing our social skills and interactions. So many Facebook apps really don't show their best features unless you have friends using the same app. The friend (nameless by request) said that getting the most out of Facebook apps means keeping up with friends. Not the pig-in-a-poke "friends" you sometimes encounter, but those friends from school or old neighborhoods or whatever that you've lost track of. I know this is the party line, but it does seem to tip the balance towards keeping up with friends.
Of course, now, I have to face the fact that a disturbing number of people on Facebook remember H.M.S. Pinafore from Gunston Junior High School. I wonder if playing SIr Joseph influenced me in later life? (And no, please do not respond to this rhetorical question.)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Looking Forward to April
Facebook will be releasing their new Profile Pages in April. First indications are that the existing code in How to Do Everything: Facebook Applications will work without modification (that's because we use the Facebook object which helps insulate us from API changes). Soon after the new APIs are released, we'll be releasing a modification of the book's code. It's tested now with PHP5 (instead of PHP4) and with a restructuring and simplification of lib.php. The restructuring makes the code more reusable for other projects.
Check back or join the mailing list for updates.
Check back or join the mailing list for updates.
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